Drivers to get perfect view in the wet

Windows fog up when water droplets condense onto glass, forming tiny beads that scatter light. For obvious reasons this can make driving hazardous. “Our coating is made up of super-water-loving particles,” says developer Michael Rubner of MIT. “These suck in the water, forcing the droplets to flatten over the surface as a sheet, so they no longer scatter light.”

The transparent coating should permanently prevent fogging, says Rubner. And at only 100 nanometres thick, it uses very little material and so should be cheap, he adds. The …